Published: 2026-08-28 • 3 min read
How to visit Ephesus, the best-preserved Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean, and the white travertines of Pamukkale with Hierapolis: what to see, how long to spend and how to combine them.
Three hours' drive apart, Turkey's Aegean coast holds two sights that justify the trip on their own: Ephesus, the best-preserved Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean, and Pamukkale, the white travertine "cotton castle" crowned by the spa city of Hierapolis. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and both feature in nearly all of our Turkey tours.
Capital of the Roman province of Asia, Ephesus once held 200,000 inhabitants. Today you walk its original marble streets:
Nearby are the House of the Virgin Mary, where tradition places her final years, and the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Calcium-rich thermal waters have spilled down this hillside for millennia, creating a one-of-a-kind amphitheatre of terraced white pools. You climb the travertines barefoot — the warm water underfoot is part of the experience — up to Hierapolis, the Greco-Roman spa city: its superbly preserved theatre, the Frontinus Gate, the great necropolis and Cleopatra's pool, where you literally swim among fallen Roman columns.
The classic base for Ephesus is Selçuk or Kuşadası; Pamukkale lies about 3 hours inland. The natural routing is Ephesus in the morning, overnight at Pamukkale and the travertines first thing, when the light is best and the big groups have not yet arrived. That is exactly how we operate it.
Can you swim at Pamukkale? On the travertines you may only walk barefoot along marked areas; full swimming is in Cleopatra's pool (separate ticket).
How much time do you need? Ephesus, 2–3 hours; Pamukkale with Hierapolis, another 3. Both in one day is possible but intense; an overnight in between is better.
Can you get there from Istanbul? One-hour flights serve İzmir (for Ephesus) and Denizli (for Pamukkale). On our tours the route is done by road with stops.
Ephesus and Pamukkale are included, with guiding and entrances, in our Charms of Turkey, 10 days and the Grand Journey across Turkey, 15 days, which adds the east of the country. Arriving by cruise or wanting a private visit from İzmir or Kuşadası? Contact us and we will arrange it.
